Q’s Year in Review: Top World Events of 2012

Welcome back to the Year in Review.  Today’s 4^th installment is the top World events of the year…at least as seen through my eyes.  I’m sure I missed plenty…and that I’ll put undue weight on some things while forgetting about others…but such is life!

For the most part, this is going to be an angry, bitter post.  I try to not be so bitter all the time...but in this case, the news this year just kinda sucked!  There's no way around it.  So, I apologize in advance for the cynical, bitter nature of my writeups.  But, this is the news as I saw it.  Can't avoid it.  Anyways, let's get to it!

10.  Colorado and Washington (state) Legalize Marijuana:  The movement has begun!  For the first time ever, two states successfully passed ballot measures to fully legalize the growing, distribution, and use of marijuana. California, wtf??  We're supposed to be the progressive state on the cutting edge of social issues!  Let me smoke (you know, if I want to...not that I would...I just want the option.  Or something like that...)

9.  The Arrest of Pussy Riot: Three members of Pussy Riot, a Russian punk band that mocked President Vladimir Putin during a "punk prayer" in a Moscow cathedral, were found guilty of hooliganism in August, and two were sentenced to two years in jail, sounding an echo of free speech suppression familiar during the Cold War.  The trial drew enormous international interest, sparking catcalls from global free-speech advocates and spawning dozens of protests. Several impromptu protests broke out in Moscow, London, Paris, Barcelona, and elsewhere, and numerous reports of arrests. Madonna, Björk, Paul McCartney, and Courtney Love were among a long list of musicians to come out in support of Pussy Riot, calling on the Russian government to set the feminist collective free.

8.  Facebook Goes Public:  In what was the largest IPO ever for a tech company, social media giant Facebook went public this year.  The much-hyped Facebook IPO happened in May, giving the company a market cap of more than $104 billion.  But with claims of the stock being priced too high, the value dropped in the first three months, tarnishing the company's brand and pausing other IPO releases.

7.  Rockets in North Korea:  In April, North Korea launched a rocket from the northern part of the country, claiming it was carrying a satellite. The launch failed and the rocket burned up in just over a minute, and disappeared from radar in 10 minutes. But condemnation of the act was swift, coming from, among others, Russia, China and the U.S., which denounced the event as a "provocative act" that succeeded only in further isolating the country.

New Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, perhaps borrowing a page from his father's playbook, made his first public appearance just two days later. Kim also got some close attention when the state media revealed the identity of his wife, Ri Sol Ju.

Despite warnings, North Korea claims it will go ahead with a second launch of a satellite later in December.

6.  Rebels rise up against the government of Syria:  The prime minister of Qatar has stood alone so far on the world stage in formally accusing Syria of genocide, telling Al Jazeera that President Bashar al-Assad's regime is waging a "war of extermination" against its own people.

More than 35,000 Syrians have been killed since the crisis began in 2011, according to estimates, about 1,000 more than the total number of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean war. The violence unfolded in March 2011 after a group of schoolchildren were arrested and tortured for taking up the refrain of the Arab Spring, calling for an end to Syria's repressive regime. Yet Assad remains in power and largely unchallenged, though the White House has called for him to be removed.

5.  Benghazi, Libya Attacks:  On Sept. 11 this year, four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.  Initial reports said the slain embassy staffers were trying to flee the consulate building, under assault by a mob of protesters apparently angry over the film trailer "Innocence of Muslims" that mocked the Prophet Muhammad.  But evidence pointed to a planned strike by an affiliate of al Qaeda and other groups that exploited, or possibly organized, the demonstrations.

"The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack," President Obama said the next day. "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for."

But the attack — and the Obama administration's reluctance to immediately label it an act of terror — became a controversial talking point among conservatives during the presidential campaign. 

4.  Obamacare Upheld by Supreme Court:  In a pretty unexpected twist, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts cast the deciding vote in the case of Obamacare, affirming its constitutionality by labeling it as a tax. This whole thing was pretty ridiculous.  Obama and the Pelosi's force this thing through, the people revolt against it, Obama tells us this isn't a tax, and isn't a giant government boondoggle.  The CBO says it will add trillions to the debt.  People take it to court as unconstitutional...and the Supreme Court upholds it by labeling it a tax...which Obama says it wasn't!  In the end, our debt grows, and the bill accomplishes nothing in the way of real health care reform.  Either fucking privatize the whole thing, or go 100% socialized with the taxes to back it up.  I prefer the former...but these half measures don't work!

3.  Deadly Shootings Take Center Stage:  The Batman Movie in Aurora, CO.  Oikos University in Oakland, CA.  Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT.  Spree killings are rare, and yet 2012 witnessed a surge of mass shootings…none quite as abhorrent as the shootings this month in Connecticut.  I'm still not entirely sure what happened.  Dude snapped and killed his mom (who may or may not have worked at the school?) and then drove to the school and killed an entire class of kindergardeners and some teachers and staff.  Brutal.  Of course, he offed himself.  Loser.  Obama and the liberals immediately pounced on this to try and push through more stringent gun laws.  You know what would have made the kids safer?  Armed teachers.  Even one or two would have made all the difference in the world.  But yes, take the guns away from lawful owners who aren't flipping out and killing people.  That way we can ENSURE only criminals and crazy people have them.  Brilliant.  Still, the shooting in Connecticut was a tragedy.  I'm not going to post the shooter's name, because that's part of the problem.  These wackos and losers want to feel popular...give us something to remember them by before they off themselves.  They see these shooters talked about on the news non-stop, and figure they could do likewise.  Media, stop feeding into this!  Talk about the teachers...like 27 year old Victoria Soto, who ushered her students into a closet and gave her own life trying to protect them.  These are the people who should be in the media 24-7...

2.  Superstorm Sandy:  Hurricane Sandy crashed into the Eastern Seaboard on Oct. 29, killing at least 128 people and leaving more than $71 billion in destruction in its wake.  Sandy was dubbed a superstorm as it continued its progression over the East Coast.  The torrential wind and rain knocked out power to some parts of New York City, leaving homes and businesses in the dark for days and blacking out half the nighttime skyline of Manhattan.  It's times like this I'm glad I live in California.  Our "superstorm" before Christmas dropped, what, 2-4 inches of rain on us? Yeah, I have that to complain about.  Anyways, pretty awful storm.  People are still out in the cold, so to speak.  Things still need to be cleaned up.  Not that you hear anything about that.  President Obama toured the area, using a Republican Governor to get the "bipartisan" label from the media, used it to get reelected, and no one talked about it since!  People are still struggling out there people...but the liberal got reelected, so, um, mission accomplished!  God, I sound like such a cynic...maybe that's because...

1.  2012 Election: Barack Obama wins a second term, decisively.  President Barack Obama beat Republican challenger Mitt Romney with 332 electoral votes to Romney's 206.  I disliked both of these candidates.  The two party system is broken.  If this is the best we can do, we need a revolution to overhaul the electoral system.  The best challenger we could come up with to unseat the Dictator Obama was Mitt Romney???  He's basically the same person.  Except white and possibly even more

OK, so this year in the world sucked.  Everything that happened in the world seemed to be awful in some way...either people are dying, foreign dictators are violating human rights, Obama is getting reelected, they want to take our guns, and Obamacare is law.  Brutal.  Now we're headed over a fiscal cliff, maybe.  We will see.  Good thing the sports year was so interesting, and my personal year was so amazing.  Otherwise, I'd be somewhat depressed!

On that note, tune in tomorrow as we wrap up the Year in Review with my Personal Year in Review.  Its a chance to gloat over how awesome my life is.  Its probably the most egocentric piece I write every year, but I love it!